Canada’s three main tobacco companies are battling in a Montreal court in the biggest civil case in Canadian history. A group of Quebec smokers is suing Imperial Tobacco Canada, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, and JTI-Macdonald, claiming the companies failed to properly warn customers about the dangers of smoking, underestimated evidence relating to the harmful effects of tobacco, engaged in unscrupulous marketing, and destroyed documents. It is the first time tobacco companies have gone to trial in a civil suit in Canada and up to $27 billion in damages and penalties are at stake. Six provinces are also teaming up to sue Canadian tobacco firms for health-care costs; British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island are retaining a national legal team to help them prosecute Canadian tobacco companies in an effort to recover billions of dollars.
